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Justice League: JK Simmons Had No Idea Who Zack Snyder Was Before Audition

When it some to comic book fans, Justice League director Zack Snyder is a household name. But JK Simmons, who’s J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films is a fan-favorite, and is now playing Comissioner Gordon in Snyder’sJustice League, had no idea who the director was before his DCEU audition.

“I don’t know anything about show business,” Simmons quipped in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “My agent called and said, ‘Zack Snyder wants to meet with you,’ and I was like, ‘Awesome. Who’s that?’ And he was like, ‘He’s like one of the biggest directors.’ Not even like, ‘This is what it’s about,’ just, ‘Go meet.'”

Despite his lack of familiarity with Snyder’s work, Simmons said that he and the director hit it off “’cause he’s a great guy.”

“[W]e were several minutes into the meeting when I kind of saw this quizzical look and he goes, ‘You have no idea why you’re here, do you?'” Simmons recalled. “He said, ‘Commissioner Gordon. I want you to play Commissioner Gordon.'”

Simmons was excited about the role, but also found it “immediately kind of intimidating,” not only because of how iconic Commissioner Gordon is in the Batman universe, but because he’d also have big shoes to fill. The actor who famously portrayed the character before him was Gary Oldman in the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight films.

However, Simmons now wants to continue to play the character for as long as he can. “It was great to get my feet wet in the first [Justice League],” he said,” hoping there will be more. That’s the plan.”